CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present invention is related to applications Ser. No. 10/064,131 entitled xe2x80x9cConnector Housing Retainerxe2x80x9d, Ser. No. 10/064,145 entitled xe2x80x9cElectrostatic Discharge Protective Boot For A Connectorxe2x80x9d, Ser. No. 10/064,146 entitled xe2x80x9cElectrical Connector Extraction Toolxe2x80x9d, and Ser. No. 10/064,147 entitled xe2x80x9cInterposer Extraction Toolxe2x80x9d, filed simultaneously herewith and incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to an electrical connector for high density applications.
Electrical connections for various types of systems are commonly located in hard to reach and compact locations. One example of such a device is a computed tomography (CT) device. Computed tomography systems are complex systems that include a number of detectors that are electrically coupled to a data acquisition system. The detectors utilize a flex circuit that is electrically connected to a data acquisition circuit board through the use of a connector. During the manufacturing and servicing processes, the connection between the connector and the data acquisition system must be disconnected. Several detectors and thus several electrical connections exist. These connections are often located in a difficult to reach area.
The data acquisition system is a densely populated circuit board and thus has a number of components and a great number of traces. Locating a number of connectors which are relatively large is difficult. Also, electrostatic discharge can easily damage the circuitry. Electrostatic discharge may build inside the flex connector. Because a number of pins are used to connect the flex connector and the data acquisition system, the removal of the flex connector portion must be performed without bending the interconnection pins.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an electrical circuit that is easy to remove as well as preventing damage during electrical connections and disconnections.
The present invention provides a connector assembly that guides in the connection and disconnection of two connector portions.
On one aspect of the invention, the connector assembly for a circuit board includes a back shell that has guide channels therein. A housing having guide arms extending therefrom is also provided. The guide arms are sized to be received within the guide channel. Upon the alignment of the guide channels and the guide arms, the housing and the back shell will be aligned to prevent damage to the electrical contacts therein.
One advantage of the invention is that an interposer is provided between the back shell and the housing within the housing when the back shell and the housing are assembled. Should a misalignment occur, the interposer will be damaged. The interposer, however, is easily removed and inexpensive to replace.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon the following detailed description and appended claims, and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.